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Hans Helewaut - Masda
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Article from Resolution magazine, Jan/Feb 2004:
Masda - Perfect post in Brussels starts with a derelict ex-Dairy and a willingness to co-operate to get things done. ZENON SCHOEPE testifies on the creation of new media complex.
- With permission from Resolution Magazine (c)2004 -
BETTER KNOWN FOR ITS PIVOTAL position in the European Union, Brussels offers a practical example in its small post industry of how disparate interests can be brought together for the greater good.
When two busy audio post operations outgrew and outstripped their premises and facilities they decided to combine forces purely for the purpose of the move and the expansion. The facilities in question are Masda and Made in Europe who spotted the potential of a dilapidated ex-dairy/ex-brewery/ex-Medicine Sans Frontiers depot and decided to make it its own.
In doing so they’ve drawn a ring of exclusivity around their respective businesses and they’ve got some fabulous rooms too. What differentiates the complex in the West centre of Brussels is the scale of the build and the number of rooms involved. However, what they started with was an enormous building with enormous potential in an
enormous bad state.
‘It was in effect an empty shell, which for a studio application was ideal,’ says Masda creative director Hans Helewaut. Because of the size of the investment involved and to keep it simple and to make sure it would happen, Masda and Made in Europe combined forces for the build. They are now, however, back to fully independent status and running well as separate entities within the same building. Masda, which is the main focus of this article, specialises in sound design and music and covers
everything from syncing of rushes right through to the 5.1 final mix. Its main market is commercials with some growth potential in film. Masda has six rooms with a seventh being completed at the time of the visit.
 Made in Europe only does dubbing and specialises in the French-speaking market for films and TV, including casting. It has six studios. ‘When we bought the building there was nothing in it,’ continues Hans. ‘Now there are 18 studios [other areas are hired out to graphic and picture work facilities]. We needed separate ceilings and box-in-abox construction. We moved a few pillars and divided the space. We created some very big spaces — we could have put a lot more in the building but we would
have lost some of the charm of the place — but big spaces also made it easier to build. ‘It’s interesting that we started off by thinking we would do just three rooms to begin with and add another the following year. Instead we did them all in eight months because we needed them and we knew that once we occupied the building it would all be finished.’
Because of the complexity of the companies’ structure, a decision was made very early on to keep the number of suppliers to a bare minimum. This allowed costs to be kept down but also simplified the logistics. After planning, the building was allocated to one supplier with the acoustic fitting of the Masda and Made in Europe rooms handled by local Belgium firm Fundamental Acoustic Research (FAR); best known for its range of monitors but also very active in acoustic design.
 ‘The aesthetics were important to us and Masda’s requirements were very different from those of Made in Europe,’ continues Hans. ‘In the commercials market the look of a place really matters. Our side of the building has a lot of windows, which from an acoustic standpoint is bad news but it’s good for our clients. We discussed the esthetics, and then it was FAR’s problem to find a solution that worked. It did.’ You’d have to agree that the layout is an ingenious use of considerable space. It’s only when you walk around that you start to notice the enormous pillars that hold the building up. While some have been cleverly hidden, others have been retained as features.
Ceiling height is generous and it’s been used by FAR to create a spacious feel. Indeed the enduring impression of Masda is that of enormous rooms with equipment that is very low profile and the majority of the areas seemingly dedicated to client comfort. They can work with patio doors open and take calls and hold meetings on the terrace.
 The rooms are nicely acoustically controlled and vibrant but share more similarity with a living space than with a typical control room. ‘We standardised on Soundscape some seven years ago and we’ve stuck to it,’ states Hans. ‘We’ve been encouraged by the support we’ve had from all the people at Soundscape through all the changes that
have happened at the company [Soundscape has split back to independent status from it former owner Mackie]. They’ve been very good and they listen to the users. I end up working on Pro Tools a lot because I work in music but Soundscape is much better for film. ‘The only thing that beaks down with our Soundscapes are the PCs and that’s not a Soundscape problem,’ he laughs, adding that all the rooms have the same type of 32-track machine running to a central server. ‘It means that every room is compatible with every other room and that’s very important for us in the commercials market. You think a job is finished and then they phone you up and they need to do something
else to it right now. Being able to take the job into any room for just an hour means we can do that.’ ‘With regard to the monitoring it depended on the rooms,’ he continues. ‘For my music room I love my Questeds so that’s what I have, but you’ll find Yamaha NS10s in pretty much every room, although the big room [with the Soundtracs DS-3] has Genelecs behind the screen.’
 A large ‘house’ that faces the main complex offers spare capacity for future expansion. This has also been renovated and parts are being rented but there is plenty of space to spare. ‘The main difference between us and our competitors is that we have people in house that specialise in music writing, with show reels and a lot
of experience. When a client asks for something with a hip-hop feel then I can do my own version or I can phone around to the many music producers I know and get them to do it for real. They’ll never meet the client, because they are not used to dealing in this environment, so I am the interface. We specialise in writing and using musicians. There are clients who want a proper big band, something you can’t do with two guys and a multitrack. It’s a new way of working in our market.’
Contact
MASDA, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM:
Tel: +32 2412 0512
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